Browns notebook: Cribbs can take a hit

Steve Doerschuk

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2007 at 8:07 AM

The crowd oohed when Joshua Cribbs was belted down hard during Sunday’s opening kick. The return ace was not awed. He popped up and trotted away. Then he did the same thing after taking a shot later in the first half.

The crowd oohed when Joshua Cribbs was belted down hard during Sunday’s opening kick.

The return ace was not awed. He popped up and trotted away. Then he did the same thing after taking a shot later in the first half.

Cribbs, who dishes out more punishment than he takes, tries to set a tone by treating pain matter of factly.

The defense looked awful in allowing a 14-0 Rams lead. The Rams added just two field goals over the last 50 minutes of the game.

“I know our guys are giving it all they’ve got,” defensive end Robaire Smith said. “It may not look like it to some people outside our team, but I know.”

Braylon Edwards is as close as the Browns have to a LeBron. They don’t want him to get too close on the ego front.

“He’s hungry,” Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski said. “We talk about being hungry and humble. That’s what we want to continue to be.”

Spinning 4-3

Romeo Crennel says 4-3 “gets our heads above water.”

His first winning record as an NFL head coach gives his team a .571 winning percentage.

Just for fun, consider what .571 means to a Major League Baseball team. It projects to 92.5 wins over 162 games. The Diamondbacks (.556), Rockies (.552), Phillies (.549) and Cubs (.525) all reached the National League postseason below .571.

Suppose the Browns beat Seattle and get to 5-3. The winning percentage jumps to .625. The Indians and Red Sox shared the best regular-season record in baseball at .593.

They’re impressed

The Rams were complimentary toward the Browns.

“We knew we had a big challenge against a very good young offense,” Head Coach Scott Linehan said.

The Browns gained 368 yards, boosting their season average to 356.4, way up from their 2006 average of 264.6.

Linebacker Will Witherspoon said Cleveland’s game plan addressed St. Louis’ good team speed and attacking defense.

“They knew we like to be fast,” Witherspoon said. “They tried to put us in situations to offset that. They did a good job, too.”

Cleveland’s defense stabilized and the offense took off after the Rams raced to a 14-0 lead.

“You have to credit Cleveland for not getting rattled,” wideout Torry Holt said.

Medical report

Crennel said Monday that linebacker D’Qwell Jackson’s game-ending injury was an ankle sprain. He was vague as to when Jackson, the team’s leading tackler, might return.

Special teams stalwart Kris Griffin suffered a strained Achilles. Crennel said Griffin has been “a major contributor.”

Extra points

- Crennel gave game balls to defensive lineman Shaun Smith, tight end Steve Heiden, linebacker Willie McGinest, wideout Joe Jurevicius and special teamer Mike Adams. He said McGinest was solid, “particularly against the run and in his pass drops.”

- Here’s Joshua Cribbs breaking down Cleveland’s approach to attacking St. Louis: “Nothing too complicated. D.A. would drop back. Braylon would be open. He would throw him the ball. He would catch it.”

- Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski on Derek Anderson’s first road win as an NFL starter: “He’ll have a lot more hurdles along the way. I’m not sure that’s gonna be his biggest one, but it’s something he’ll feel good about.”

-- The Repository

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